Shower head and method of making the same



July 6, 1937. c. w. HATHAWAY ET AL 2,085,354-

SHOWER HEAD AND METBOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed April 18, I935 1 NEW A? A a y a A v Chem 2r ZZZ #at/Laway 1 Mad flramoe 3 1. j 1 fi F/ Patented July 1 937 UNITED... STATES 2,085,854 SHOWER mam AND METHOD OF mm Chester W.

THE sAME Hathaway and Emost Krumsiek,

Decatur, Ill., assignors to Mueller 00., Decatur, Ill.,-. a corporation of Illinois Application April 18, 1935, Serial No. 17,142

' 3 Claims. (01. 259-141) The present application relates to a shower head and a method of making the same.

One of the objects of the invention is to providea'shower head from which water will be 5 delivered in the most eflicient and desirable form) of stream and which may be readily cleaned.

Another object of the invention is to provide an economical and very eflicient method of producing shower heads.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and drawing, in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the shower head,

Figure 2 is a longitudinalsectional view through the head, I

I Figure 3 is an end view, a

Figure 4'is a view partly in longitudinal section showing the flow obstructing disc in lowered or 20 cleaning position, and

Figure .5 is an enlarged-fragmentary view diagrammatically showing the method of forming the flow obstructing disc. 4

The shower head of the present invention includes a shell or body III which is substantially bell-shaped and has its upper end threaded to receive a collar l lby means of whichthe spherical end of a connection l2 may be secured to the body. In use, the connection i2 is threaded upon 30 the eridof a water pipe as shown in Figure 1, thereby supporting'the head. The inlet end of the shell is provided with the usual resilient washer l3 against which the spherical end of the connection l2 bears to be tightly sealed-to the shell. The arrangement described above obviously permits the shower head to be moved angularly with respect to the connection i2 in order that the stream of water maybe directed as desired.

The outlet end of shell I is provided with an opening Hi, the inner or bounding surface of this opening being downwardly and outwardly inclined, that is, diverging. This conformation may be given duringthe casting or machining of the shell. A flow obstructing disc I5 is secured in the opening M by means of a stem {6, the-body portion of stem l6 being threaded to engage a; threaded opening, I in a spider I 8 formed integrally with the shell Ill. The lower portion or head :of stem I6 is provided adjacent its lower end with a flange [9, and in the-manufacture of the stern, the peripheral surface of the flange l9 is inclined so as to be dutwardly divergent as shown in Figures 2 and 3 and is also provided with circumferentially spaced notches 20', each notch preferably'being semi-cylindrical inform. The

with the bounding surface of flange- I9 of stem I6 engages-in an aperture 2l formed centrally ofthe flow obstructing disc l5 and, in the, completed device, the wall of the aperture 2| also diverges to be substantially parallel with the peripheral surface of the flange l9. '5 Since the peripheral surface of the flange I9 is divergent or inclined, the flow obstructing disc 15 will be supported thereon. Also,-- in the com- ;pletedform'of the flowobstructing disc l5, its a peripheral surface 22 is inclined or tapered, the 10 point of greatest diameter. being its outer or. lower edge 23. Circumferentially spaced notches 24 preferably semi-cylindrical in shape, are formed in the peripheral surface 22 of disc IS. The inclination of the peripheral surface 22- of disc I5 is such that when the disc is fitted in the. shell Hi, this surface will be substantially parallel the outlet ll of the shell. r

In assembling the elements of the shower head, the stem. I6 is passed through the disc l5 .and a pin or other retaining member is' then placed in a' diametrically extending aperture in the stem. The stem may then be threaded through the aperture H of the spider 18, being turned by means of the flat-surfaced extension lBa atlits lower end. A nut 26 is placed upon the upper end of the stem 56 as shown in Figures2 and 3. The stem I6 is rotated to bring the lower edge of stem flange l9," approximately opposite the lower edge of the aperture'2 I, in disc 15 and to bring the lower edge 23 of the peripheral surface 22 of disc I5 approximately opposite the lower edge of the bounding surface of outlet opening 14;

In use, water will issue from the apertures defined by the notches 20 and 24 and the relation described above of these notches to the surfaces which they oppose cause the water to issue in two concentric and circular streams of diverging jets. The outer stream will be formed by the notches 24 in the'periphery of disc l5 and the inner stream will issue from the notches 2i) in stem l6. l I In order to clean the head, the stem 16 is rot'ated by grasping or engaging the flattened surfaces IGa and the stem thereby moved down-- wardly in the shell. The downward movement of the stem- [6 will bring the pin 25 intocontact with the disc l5, forcing the latter downwardly should it tend to stick in the shell and -so that its periphery will be clear of the shell,

as shown in Figure 4. Contact of'thenut *26 with the spider 18 will limit the downward movement of the stem, preventing the disc and stem from falling from the shell. Because of the fact and downwardly and the periphery 22 to have that the pin 25 is spaced above the flange IS a distance slightly greater than the thickness of the disc I5, the disc may be moved upwardly and against the pin from the-position shown in Figure 4, topermit the peripheral surface of the stem flange l9 and the notches 20 therein to be readily cleaned. The cleaning may be accomplished by use of a brush or the like, or by permitting water to flow through the head with the elements in the position described above. In forming the shower head of the present invention, the bounding surface of the outlet openirig H of shell III is made outwardly divergent and the inclined -surface about the stem I6 is formed on such an angle that it will be slightly less inclined than the bounding surface of opening |4 when in assembled position in the shell. The disc I5 is flat in the first stages of its formation and its peripheral surface 22 and the bounding surface of aperture 2| are at right angles to the faces of the disc, all as indicated by solid lines in Figure 5.' The semi-cylindrical notches 24 in the periphery 22 of the disc are formed in the disc with their axes substantially parallel to the axis of the disc as indicated by the line A in Figure 5. With the notches 24 formed in the disc, it is bent to the concavoconvex shape indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 5, thereby causing the bounding surface of the central aperture 2| to diverge outwardly the same lines. This conformation of these surfaces will naturally cause them to be in the desired relation to the bounding surfaceof the shell outlet and thestem l6 when the head is assembled.

By bending the disc l5 to the shape shown in dotted lines after the notches have been formed therein and also after the aperture 2| has been formed in the usual manner, the final shape of the disc is obtained by a much more economical process of manufacture than would be the case were the disc concavo-convex throughout its manufacture and if the central aperture 2| and the periphery 22, including the notches 24, formed to their final shape by machining alone or by casting. Obviously, were the disc l5 flat in final form and provided with diverging notches, it

would be necessary to machine inclined surfaces on the edge of the disc and about the aperture 2| and also to form the notches 24 on an angle. It will therefore be appreciated that the method of the present invention is much simpler and cheaper than the manufacturing processes usually followed.

We claim:

1. A shower head comprising a shell including an outlet opening having an outwardly divergent bounding wall, a centrally apertured concavoconvex disc positionedin the opening with its convex surface outermost, the wall of the disc aperture being diverged toward the convex surface, a stem secured in the shell and extending through the disc aperture, the stem having an inclined and notched peripheral surface'thereon substantially opposite to and'of less inclination than the wall of the shell opening, the peripheral surface of the disc being notched and substantially parallel to the bounding surface of the shell outlet opening. I

2; The method of making a shower head including a shell and a flow-obstructing disc, comprising forming in the shell an outlet opening having an outwardly divergent bounding surface, forming notches in the peripheral surface of a hat disc with theaxes of the notches substantially at right angles to the major surface of the disc, and bending the disc to concavo-convex form to .position its, peripheral surface at an angle to its axis and substantially parallel to the bounding surface of said opening.

cluding a shell provided with an outlet openin'g, a centrally apertured flow-obstructing disc positioned in the opening and a stem adapted to contact with the edge of the disc aperture and secured in the shell, comprising forming the shell outlet opening with anoutwardly divergent bounding surface, forming about the stem an inclined and notched surface having less inclination than the outlet opening bounding surface, and forming the flow-obstructing disc from a j flat apertured disc having its peripheral surface.

and the bounding surface of the aperture therein notches in the peripheral surface of the disc, the axes of the notches being substantially parallel to the disc axis, and bending the disc to concave-convex form to respectively position its peripheral and apertured bounding surfaces substantially parallel to the bounding surfaceof the outlet opening and said surface aboutthe stem.

CHESTER W. HATHAWAY. ERNEST KRUMSIEK.

'at right angles to its major surface, forming 

